Car-warmer



' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN Q. C. SEARLE, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

CAR-WARM ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 236,849, dated January 18, 1881.

Application filed May 28, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN Q. G: SEARLE, of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton an (1 State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Oar Warmers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of an improvementiu th at class of railway-car warmers which employs a circulating hot-water apparatus in the lower portion of the car, with the heating or radiating pipes usually placed under the carseats; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of a short circulating-circuit, in connection with a combined expansionchamber and water-reservoir, which, when the car is temporarily out of use, enables the maintenance, at any desired temperature, with a small expense of fuel, of a quantity of water suflicient to fill all the circulating and radiating pipes, and also permits of the use of ordinary water in the heating-coil and in the circulating-pipes without the liability to freez-' ing, as will be fully explained hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a general view of the interior of a car, showing the arrangement of the severalelements constituting my invention; and Fig. 2 is a sectional View of one of thecocks used in the system of circulating-pipes.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts.

A is the body of an ordinary passenger railway-car, in one end of which I place any suitable heating-stove, B, containing an ordinary water-heating coil, 0, the upper and lower legs (outlet and inlet) of which are projected horizontally through the fire-pot and shell of the stove,as shown in Fig. 1, to connect with the circulating-pipes, to-be described.

F is a cylindrical expansion-chamber and water-reservoir, provided with water-test cocks f f f and a low-pressure gage, f

E E are the leading-pipes, through which the heatedwater passes from the upper leg of the coilO to the radiators, placed under the seats of the car. The radiators are not shown in the drawings, as they constituteno part of my invention.- 'lhe upper leg of the coil 0 connects with thepipe E, near the expansion chamber F.

D Dare the return-pipes throughwhich the cooled water is conveyed back to the heatingcoil 0 after it has passed the circuit of the radiators.

D is a pipe connecting the expansion-chamber F with the lower leg of the coil 0.

d is a two-way cock of peculiar construction, (shown in detail in Fig. 2,) which, by placing it in proper position, connects the lower leg of the coil 0 either with the pipe *D or with the pipe D.

e is a common stop-cock, situated in the descendin g pipe E, near its junction with the upper leg of the coil 0, by means of which the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir F are connected with or disconnected from the circulating-pipes E E. 4

d is a stop-cock in the pipe D through which the water in the pipes E E and D D and in the radiators may be drawn off when necessary.

G is a rising pipe, which is connected with the top of the expansion-chamber and waterreservoir F and passe sup through the roof of the car.

9 is a funnel, through which water is introduced'into the expansion-chamber and waterreservoir F.

g is a safety-valve placed on the upper end of the pipe G, for the purpose of relieving the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir of any excess of pressure which may occur therein.

g is a stop-cock, which connects the funnel gwith the rising pipe G and remains closed while the apparatus is in use.

g is a small stop-cock, to relieve the expansion -chamber and water-reservoir F of air while being charged with water.

H is a divided water-tank, for toiletpurposes, one compartment of which contains cold water, and the other compartment of which contains water heated to an agreeable temperature by means of the small coil H, connected by the pipe h with the leading pipe E, and by the pipe h with the return-pipe D. An air-space is provided between the two compartments of the tank H to prevent the heating of the water in ment.

I is a pipe or casin g, connected at the lower end with the pipe K, and provided at the upper end with a cup or seat, 6. The pipe K conthe cold-water compartentirely filled with water.

nects with the expansion-chamber and waterreservoir F, near the lower end thereof, and passes through the shell and fire-pot of the stove B. At the junction of the casing I and the pipe Ka lifting water gate or plug will be placed, connected, by means of a chain or wire, with a ball seated in a cup located at a suitable point. If the ball is lifted or tilted from its seat it withdraws the plug from its socket and permits the water in the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir F to rush through the pipe K into the stove B to extinguish the fire.

J is a rod actuated by the hand-lever j, to which the arms of the cocks d, d, and e are pivoted, the arms or levers on the cocks being so arranged that when the hand-lever j is drawn up the cock 6 is open, the cock d closed, and the cock 01 set to connect the pipe D with the lower leg of the coil 0 and when the handlever j is forced down the cock 0 is closed, the cock d is opened, and the cock d set to connect the pipe D with the lower leg of the coil 0.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: Assuming the radiators and all the pipes and the coil void of water, as well as the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir F, the hand-lever j up, and the cocks d, d, and e in the position first described, the cocks g and 9 open, then water is poured into the funnel g until all the radiators, and the pipes E E, and the pipes D D, and the coil 0, and expansion-chamber and water-reservoir F are all The cocks g and g are then closed, and the upper try-cock,f, opened, and the water above this cock drawn 011', the space thus formed being to accommodate the dilatation of the remaining water as it becomes heated. The apparatus now being in readiness for the application of heat to the coil (3, the heating of the water in the coil causes the hotter water to rise and pass out through the upper leg of the coil into the leading-pipe E E, and then circulate through the radiators, thereby warming the car, and finally to return cooled, through the returnpipes D D, to the lower leg of the coil 0, there to be again heated and traverse indefinitely the same route from the upper leg of the coil through the leading-pipes and radiators, and back to the coil by the return-pipes. This is what I term the long circulating-circuit.

If the entire system of pipes were completely filled with water and no escape was provided, then the natural dilatation of the water by the elevation of temperature would burst the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir F, or the pipes, or the connections, and thus unfit the apparatus for use. To avoid an occurrence of this nature space for the expansion in volume of the water is provided in the expension-chamber and water-reservoir F, as already described.

The leading-pipe E being shown as penetrating the bottom of the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir F, and the expansionchamber and water-reservoir F as connected with the leading-pipe E, but forming no part of the circulating system of pipes, it follows that no transfer of water from the expansionchamber and water-reservoir to the circulating system, or from the circulating system to the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir, can take place during the natural operation of the apparatus, save as leaks may occur in the radiators, when the water thus lost would be supplied from the expansion-chamber and water'reservoir F, and by the dilatation of the water in the coil and system of circulatingpipes, when the excess of water would pass up the vertical pipe E into the expansionchamber and water-reservoir until the pressure subsisting in the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir shall equal (less the hydrostatic head) that of the pressure in the coil 0 and circulating-pipes E E and D D and in the radiators. Suppose, however, that the car containing the heater is temporarily out of use, and the weather is sufiiciently cold to congeal the water in the circulating-pipes and in the radiators unless an active circulation of the water is had by maintaining the usual condition of fire in the stove B, then, to avoid the necessity of a strong fire in the stove B, and at the same time to efl'ectually prevent the congelation of the water in the circulating-pipes and in the radiators, the hand-lever j is forced down until the cocks at, d, and e occupy the second position described-via, the cock d open, the cock 0 closed, and the cook 01 set to connect the pipe D with the lower leg of the coil (J. The efi'ect of this change is, first, to drain the leading-pipes E E, the radiators, and the return-pipes D D of the contained water; and, second, to connect the upper leg of the coil 0 with the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir F through the upper portion of the vertical pipe E, to form what I term the short circulating-circuit. The circulation then takes place in the coil 0, the expansionchamber and water-reservoir F, and the descending pipe D. Under this condition,the pipes E E and D D and the radiators being void of water, no freezing can occur.

The short circulating-circuit, having the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir F as a part of the system,it is obvious that in a short interval of time the contents of the expansionchamber and water-reservoir will be at a high temperature, and if the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir be of sufiicient capacityto furnish a full supply of water to the circulating-pipes E E and D D and the radiators, it is only necessary to draw the hand-lever j up and place the cooks d, d, and e in the first position described, when the entire contents of the expansion chamber and waterreservoir F will flow into the pipes E E, the radiators, and the pipes D D, and circulation in the long circulating-circuit will be re-established. The expansion-chamber and water-reservoir F will be refilled in the manner heretofore described.

It will be observed that theexpansion-chamber and water-reservoir F, while it serves simply as an expansion-chamber for the long circulating-circuit, and may be of small capacity for this purpose, is for the purpose of the short circulating-circuit, preferably of sufficient capacity to furnish a full supplyof water to the circulating-pipes E E and D D and the radiators; and that while no circulation of the water contained in the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir F can occur when the long circulating-circuit is in use, that circulation does occur in the expansion-chamber and water-reservoir when the short circulating-circuit is in use.

I am aware that the use of a short circulating-circuit in hot-water warming apparatus is not used, and that several attempts have heretofore been made to adapt it to the requirements of practice, which attempts have been only partially successful.

Having described my invention, what I claim 1s--- 1. The combination, with the expansionchamber and water-reservoir F, of the pipes E, leading from the said reservoir to the radiators of a hot-water warmin g apparatus for railway-cars, the return-pipes D, and the heatin g-coil 0, having its upper leg connected with the outflow-pipe E at a point intermediate of D and E, provided with cocks d and e, and leading from said reservoir, and the coil 0, arranged to open at the terminus of its upper leg into the pipe E, and to communicate at the extremity of its lower leg with the pipe D, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the expansionchamber and water-reservoir F, of the outflowpipe E, extending from said reservoir to the radiators, the return-pipes D, the descending pipe D, communicating with the return-pipe and with the reservoir, the heating-coil 0, communicating at its upper leg with the pipe E at a point intermediate of the same and the radiators, and communicating at its lower end with both the return-pipe and the pipe D, the valve-cock e, intermediate of the radiators, and the connection between the coil 0 and. the outflow-pipe E, and the two-way cock d, arranged to establish communication either between the coil and the pipe D or the coil and the pipe D, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the cooks d, d, and e, hand-lever j, and connecting-bar J, for the purpose and as described.

In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to the foregoing specification in the-presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN Q. C. SEARLE.

Witnesses:

Annmosn TEMPLE, COLLIN FORD, Jr. 

